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United States Patent | 5,534,941 |
Sie ,   et al. | July 9, 1996 |
A system is provided by which a single active video signal, along with a plurality of audio and data streams can be made to represent a number of different screens of information at a cable TV set. The system uses essentially only the bandwidth of a single video channel to provide a viewer with a plurality of screens, one or more of which include the same active video picture, simultaneously with other screens which display only audio and text/graphics. This multiple-screen capability is provided by a mapping function which creates an effective plurality of channels that are dynamically and seamlessly switched.
Inventors: | Sie; John J. (Englewood, CO); Basawapatna; Ganesh R. (Greenwood Village, CO) |
Assignee: | Encore Media Corporation (Englewood, CO) |
Appl. No.: | 245596 |
Filed: | May 20, 1994 |
Current U.S. Class: | 348/564; 348/461; 725/67; 725/68; 725/119; 725/132; 725/136 |
Intern'l Class: | H04N 007/16 |
Field of Search: | 348/564,384,385,568,461,478,473,484,485,6,16,580,581,578,588 |
5008750 | Apr., 1991 | Gomikawa | 348/588. |
5023720 | Jun., 1991 | Jardins | 358/183. |
5138460 | Aug., 1992 | Egawa | 358/224. |
5157491 | Oct., 1992 | Kassatly | 358/146. |
5200823 | Apr., 1993 | Yoneda et al. | 348/473. |
5208669 | May., 1993 | Richards | 358/140. |
5262860 | Nov., 1993 | Fitzpatrick et al. | 358/142. |
5359601 | Oct., 1994 | Wasilewski et al. | 370/73. |
Foreign Patent Documents | |||
508654A2 | Oct., 1992 | EP | . |
624040A2 | Sep., 1994 | EP | . |
WO93/11617 | Jun., 1993 | WO | . |
WO93/11640 | Jun., 1993 | WO | . |
WO94/10775 | May., 1994 | WO | . |
WO94/10802 | May., 1994 | WO | . |